Why The Writer's Strike Is So Important

As a writer, I'm closely following the writer's strike, now entering it's third week. This interest goes beyond just being a writer. First, there's the realization a prolonged strike will shut down my favorite TV shows. That's even worse for me as I'm no fan of reality TV, which is sure to fill programming schedules once the networks run out of scripts.

But beyond missing favorite programs and the understanding that movies will eventually be effected as well, is the key issue about writer's getting fairly compensated for what they create. Regardless of who you write for, this is a crucial point. Screenwriter Douglas McGrath writes in the November 13, 2007 issue of Newsweek about why he's on strike and deftly notes what writer's are fighting for. He writes, "With their costs substantially reduced, this would be the right time to correct the old imbalance of the DVD rate and give writers a share more fairly in line with the level of our contribution. But the studios are not looking to find a more equitable residual rate—it seems they are hoping that the new media will allow them to do away with the idea of residuals altogether.

Right now, if you go online and watch a streaming version of a TV show, the company that owns that property is getting paid by the advertisers whose commercials appear at the top of it. Just like TV, but with one difference: the writers are paid no residual, not even the four cents. The companies say they don't need to pay us for this: it's "promotional." By that I suppose they mean that it promotes the size of their earnings from smaller to larger.

The companies keep saying, "We don't know yet what the new media is." But the concept is very old: movies and TV shows will appear on a screen of some sort (TV, computer, iPod, phone) and people will pay to watch them, either through a direct downloading fee or by watching ads. The companies will make money doing it; otherwise they will not do it. If the companies really thought there was no money to be made in "new media," they'd give us a percentage of it. "

I encourage you to read McGrath's entire article and understand what's at stake. Technology has changed the business of writing for all writer's, and its only fair that we get compensated, and fairly, for that which we create.